


Your Heart in Exchange for Mine

by WhatDoStarsDoBest



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat, Stardust - Neil Gaiman
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Hate to Love, M/M, Slow Build, Stardust AU, Stars, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-27
Updated: 2017-06-17
Packaged: 2018-10-24 17:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,440
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10746630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhatDoStarsDoBest/pseuds/WhatDoStarsDoBest
Summary: Basically just the Captive Prince characters set to the plot of Neil Gaiman's Stardust. Yeah. Except I no longer have my copy of Stardust and last read it over a year ago, so the plot is unfortunately going to more closely follow the movie. (So sorry. I just don't remember the book.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is just setting the stage if you will. Nothing exciting. Just me. Getting used to writing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time posting anything I've written online. I don't know what I'm doing and I'm actually really scared about this. Please be nice, and please tell me how I can improve. I'm sorry, this is going to start out a little slow. Because, if I remember correctly, but the book and the movie don't really get to the plot for a while because the set-up takes a long time.  
> (I'm so awkward.) Also, I'm going to be updating slow. I'm busy with school and I don't expect many people to read this, anyway. On the off chance you are reading this, please give me some feedback. Thanks.  
> One more thing. I'm very new to this site. I don't quite understand the formatting yet, so bear with me while I figure out what the hell I'm doing.

Damianos had never met his mother. All he knew was that he had been dropped on his father, Theomedes’, doorstep in a basket. His half brother, Kastor had never really taken to him. But he pretended to like his younger brother, and Damianos did everything he could to be a good brother and an even better friend to Kastor. Young and naïve as he was, Damen never realised that his older brother despised him. When Kastor stabbed him in a practice duel, he simply assumed it was an accident. Damen was a proficient swordsman, but Kastor was better. Maybe Kastor just thought Damen would have been fast enough to block his attack. No real harm had been done, really. But this is not the story of how baby Damen became a boy. This is the story of how the boy became a man.  
He lived in a town that was bordered on one side with a wall that only had one spot in which a person could go through. This spot was constantly guarded, which made no sense to Damen. This was because it seemed only to be a wall to an empty field. Town legend said that the wall really guarded the entrance to a magical world. But that was the talk of fairytales and Damen didn't believe a word of it.  
And for as long as he could remember, Damen had a crush on a girl in town named Jokaste. She was intelligent, beautiful, and, most importantly, blonde. Exactly Damen’s type. He was besotted with Jokaste. When he was sixteen he broke his arm falling from the orange tree outside her bedroom window. He found the entire situation to be very embarrassing. But a month or so after his arm healed, everyone stopped making jokes and nobody seemed to care or remember it had happened at all.  
By the time they were both seventeen, Damen was convinced she was the most beautiful person in the world. And there were not many who would have disagreed with him. Jokaste’s heart-shaped face and brilliant blue eyes attracted many people, and her ruthless nature broke many hearts. Her loose blonde curls fell nicely over her shoulders and her lips were a rosy pink. Her body was as perfect as her face. Her porcelain doll skin was clear and there wasn't a single freckle on her as far as Damen knew.  
Every boy in the village was in love with Jokaste. Damen and his friend Nikandros were no exceptions, and neither was Kastor. Jokaste, however, proved elusive to all of them. Damen and Kastor did hold most of her attention, and it only deepened the divide between the brothers, as they were both determined to eventually win her hand.  
Kastor and Damen were both very attractive, and very fond of beautiful people. By the time each of them reached sixteen, neither of them remained virgins. Though, Kastor had a mild head start, being three years Damen’s senior. Even so, Damen was better known for being a very enjoyable partner. 

Damen was twenty-five and working in a small grocery shop in town when he finally got Jokaste’s attention. He had grown into a tall, attractive, muscular young man that his father was very proud of. He had very masculine features, warm golden-brown skin, and thick black curls. His long eyelashes framed his liquid black eyes, which were really just a very dark brown if you were close enough to see.  
“Hello, Damen,” Jokaste said, putting a few items in the counter. “I also need a bag of sugar and a bag of flour.”  
“Of course, Jokaste!” Damen replied, happy to oblige.  
“Oh,” said Jokaste as Damen set the bags of flour and sugar on the countertop. “Those do look rather heavy.” Then, with a brilliant smile and a fluttering of eyelashes, she asked, “Perhaps you can carry them home for me.”  
Damen, foolish and lovestruck, was only too quick to answer. “Of course!”  
Jokaste paid for her items and Damen happily carried them for her, leaving the store unattended. They walked together through the warm summer air, Jokaste sporting a parasol to protect her fair skin from the bright sun. She laughed politely at his awkward jokes as they meandered through the streets.  
“How is Kastor?” Jokaste asked amicably.  
Damen felt his heart sink a little. “He's well. Out of town right now, though,” he replied.  
“So I've heard,” she said. “Will he be gone long?”  
“No,” Damen answered, “He’ll be home in a couple days.”  
Jokaste turned to face him as they got to her front door. “I'm glad to hear it,” she said with more fondness in her voice than Damen would have liked. Then, “Do come in. Put the bags on the kitchen counter.”  
Damen did as he was told without a word, and politely left. He smiled when Jokaste waved him goodbye, but could not help feeling slightly heartbroken at her interest in his brother. Yet, heartbroken as he was, he was stubborn. He walked back to the shop where he worked, forming a plan to prove his love for Jokaste. He imagined her swooning into his arms. His daydreams, however, were shattered by reality when he arrived back at work. “You're fired,” came the gruff voice of Damen’s boss.  
Damen almost asked why, but he knew perfectly well. He had left his job and several customers to walk home a girl. Really, he should have thought of that in the first place. He could only wonder: Had Jokaste thought of it? He immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. Jokaste would never intentionally sabotage him.  
He sadly went home and explained the loss of his job to his father. Theomedes didn't take the news poorly, and clapped him on the shoulder.  
“You're sure to woo any woman if you're willing to forsake your job for her, my son,” he told Damen.  
“Any woman except the one I want,” Damen muttered in reply.  
“You'll win her heart eventually,” his father replied confidently.  
“I'm going to visit her tonight,” Damen replied. “Maybe it will work for me this time.”  
“You'll do fine. I know you will.”  
“I hope.”  
And that was the end of it. Damen went up to his room to prepare everything in order to surprise Jokaste and, hopefully, prove his love for her. Though he was no longer optimistic about his chances.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damen tries to court Jokaste and is sent on a quest to prove his love. Said quest starts poorly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, if you're a fan of Stardust and have specific requests for me to substitute for characters in the book/movie, I will take it into account if I don't already have a specific plan for that character. I have roughly 60% of a plan. I am winging this for the most part. Gotta love making shit up as you go along. I have a lot less anxiety about this now since the first chapter has been received so well. And if you notice any grammar mistakes, or something I could be doing better, please mention it. It helps. Thank you so much, guys. I really appreciate the kindness. (I'll try and make chapters longer as I go, but there's not much plot to work with, yet.)

Damen left around ten at night to walk to Jokaste’s house, carrying a small bouquet of flowers. He looked up at the clear night sky as he walked. And the stars back then were not as we see them today. Light pollution now washes them out and makes them hard to see. This was not the case for Damen. Many questions ran through his mind as he gazed at the stars. He couldn't help but wonder for all that humans gaze at the stars, did the stars gaze back? It was a silly question, really. They were just balls of fire in space, scientists said. How would they be able to watch Earth? Daydreams were for children and crazy people.

When he got to Jokaste's house he picked up a small pebble, gently tossing it at her window. She opened the window and sighed in exasperation.   
“Damen, how many times do I have to tell you not to come?” she asked.  
Damen couldn’t hide his stupid grin even in the face of her obvious annoyance. “Please, Jokaste? It’s important, this time.”  
“Fine,” she replied irritably and snapped the window shut.

Damen waited nervously, wondering if he should abandon this wild notion and simply go home. But, something told him good things would come of it if he were to stay.  
Jokaste came outside in a loose, pale blue gown and amicably linked her arm through Damen’s. He instantly felt the giddy smile spread across his face. 

“Where do you plan to take me, this fair summer evening?” She gently took the flowers he had bought for her as she spoke, carrying them in her free hand.  
“I’ll show you,” Damen replied, already gently leading her down the road.

 

They eventually arrived at a small clearing in the woods where Damen had spread out a romantic, candle lit picnic. It had cost him all his savings. But as far as he was concerned, Jokaste was worth it. The trees neatly arched over the setting, but did not block out the view of the night sky. The candles Damen had strategically placed nicely lit Jokaste's face in a warm, golden glow. She sat down elegantly, her blue eyes glimmering seductively in the dim light. Damen brought out a bottle of champagne from the picnic basket.

“Damen. I’m speechless,” she said with a small, private smile.  
Damen felt himself smile with his usual dorky grin as he replied. “I’m glad you like it.”  
“My birthday’s not for another week, you know,” she said simply.  
“Oh, I know,” Damen responded.  
“Then what’s all this for?” she asked, sipping at a glass of the champagne he had bought for her.  
“I’m courting you, silly,” Damen replied. “Or, at least, I’m trying to.” He had always been honest about his intentions, and this was no exception. He felt being straightforward with Jokaste would be the best approach.  
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said, her smile quickly vanishing. “I’ve really been messing thing up for you, haven’t I? You lost your job… Well, I thought you knew why Kastor was away.”  
“What do you mean?” he asked, feeling a sinking dread. He was suddenly rather glad that the stars could not watch Earth. It would be terrible to have an audience to this rather embarrassing attempt at wooing Jokaste.  
“He’s going all the way to Delpha to buy a ring to propose to me. He said he told you.”  
“He must have forgotten. But, all the way to Delpha?” Damen couldn’t help but scoff. “Jokaste, for your hand in marriage I’d cross the oceans and bring you back your weight in a pirate’s gold. For your hand in marriage, I’d search the world until I could find a diamond the size of your face. For your hand in marriage, I’d do anything you asked of me.”

Jokaste laughed brightly. “You’re so earnest, Damen I love that. But how could I say no to Kastor after he’s gone all the way to Delpha?” She kissed his cheek, leaving him flustered and unable to come up with a response.

Damen felt himself in peril of total embarrassment when he was saved by a star arcing across the sky. It was unbelievably close. Following its path with his gaze, Damen saw that it would land beyond the wall. He quickly looked at Jokaste, his face lit up with hope. She was still gazing after the fallen star, but quickly turned to him when he spoke. 

“Jokaste. For your hand in marriage, I will cross the wall and bring you back that star.” Damen said, full of confidence. He would prove his love to Jokaste, and she would marry him.  
She thought about it for a moment. Then, “Very well. You have one week, or I’m marrying Kastor.”   
She held up her wineglass, and Damen tapped it with his own. “You have a deal,” he said.  
“Don’t be late,” she said.   
Damen laughed. “I won’t. Let’s finish the champagne”

 

They drank together for a while, laughing and sharing jokes. Eventually it became time for Damen to walk Jokaste home. He happily dropped her off on her doorstep. She placed a kiss on his cheek. 

“Bring me back my star, Damianos,” she said and disappeared inside with an airy wave.

Damen waved back and then ran home. He threw some food and clothes in a bag then wrote a note to his father before leaving the house as swiftly as he’d come. He made straight for the wall on the edge of town. He would go swiftly and bring back the star for Jokaste. He would be back in time and he would marry his true love.

He got to the wall and was about to cross when the batty old man who guarded the gate quickly moved to halt him. Yet, he was simply guarding the empty field that tapered off into a forest. The rolling green grass shone darkly in the moonlight. What could possibly be dangerous or magical about a field and some trees? Sure, it was a little unsettling at night, but Damen was also a little tipsy from the alcohol. He was probably just overreacting.

“I need to cross the wall,” Damen said. “I’m on a quest for my true love, you see.”  
“No,” the guard said forcefully. “Nobody crosses the wall.”  
Damen sighed. “You are guarding a field. There’s no magical world out there. Because it’s a field!”  
“Nobody crosses the wall. That is my job.”   
“Fine,” Damen sighed in exasperation. “I’ll just go home then.”  
“Good man,” replied the guard with a small wave.

Damen suddenly turned and ran at the gap in the wall. Only to be met with the old man’s cane knocking him to the grass.   
“Nobody crosses the wall,” repeated the old man.  
Damen got up and stormed back home without responding, irritated and needing to nurse his pride. He of all people had been knocked down by a scrawny old man. It was preposterous. He was just drunk and tired. That was all. With this in mind to sooth his thoughts, he went upstairs to bed. He dreamed fondly of fallen stars and golden hair. But what slipped though his dreams the most was a pair of brilliant blue eyes. They were even more vibrant than Jokaste's and cold as ice. But eventually even the dreams faded into the darkness of sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damen finds out he has a magical mother. But does he believe it? (I'm sorry this is so short. I'll get right on the next one.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took so long, to those of you who stuck around. It's June 15th, and my last day of my junior year of high school! So excited. So, I wanted to finish this chapter to celebrate. Hopefully I can start getting them longer and updating more frequently. Summer break is a fantastic thing. Thank you so much to those of you still with me. And, as always, constructive criticism is appreciated.

Damen came downstairs the next morning with a bruise that showed even on his dark skin. He hadn't yet bothered to put a shirt on or run a comb through his tangled curls. He didn't have a job anymore, after all. And he had all day to figure out how to cross the wall. 

Theomedes raised an eyebrow as he dished a fried egg onto Damen’s plate. Damen dug in immediately. 

“Rough night?” he asked.  
“Something like that,” Damen replied.  
“Care to elaborate?”  
Damen sighed. “I tried to cross the wall.”  
“Why would you want to cross the wall?” Theomedes’s voice was oddly controlled, as though hiding something.  
“Because I promised Jokaste that, for her hand in marriage, I'd cross the wall and fetch the star that fell last night,” Damen replied snippily, still in a bad mood.  
Themodes sighed. “I don't suppose you intend to give up on this quest.”  
“No.”  
“It makes sense. Damen, come up to the attic with me. I must confide in you something I should have told you years ago.”

Confused, Damen followed his father upstairs. He wondered what secret would his father possibly have kept from him. He vaguely felt a nagging fear at the back of his mind. What could be so bad his father wouldn’t have told him? Was he in danger? Was Theomedes?

Theomedes took out a basket and handed it to Damen. It contained five things, a letter addressed to him, a black candle, a glass snowdrop, a delicate silver chain, and a baby’s blanket. It seemed an odd assortment of items, and so Damen first turned to the letter in the hope it contained some answers. 

“Damianos, my dear son,  
I wish more than anything else in the world that I could have kept you. But my circumstances do not allow it. Therefore I have sent you to your father so you could grow without fear. I love you with all my heart and think of you every day. I have found that the fastest way to travel is by candlelight. To use it, think of me and only me.  
With love,  
Your mother”

Damen read it a couple of times, trying to absorb the information. 

“Your mother is from beyond the wall, Damen. Or I would have had you meet her. All the stories are true. It is a place of magic,” Theomedes said after a while.  
“You're serious?” Damen replied, not really able to take it all in.  
“Yes, Damen. I'm sorry I waited so long to tell you.”  
“How do I know you haven't suddenly lost your mind?”  
“Damen. I know it's a lot. You should go to her. She will answer all your questions.”  
Damen sighed. “Do you have anything to light the candle?”

Theomedes pulled out some matches, and Damen tucked the glass snowdrop into his clothes, the chain into his pocket, and gripped the candle tightly. Was he actually ready for this? He supposed it was fine. The candle likely wouldn’t work, anyway. Magic didn’t exist. Those kinds of fairytales were for babies. And crazy people. He would try, regardless. Mostly because he knew his father wouldn’t allow him to go anywhere until he did. He closed his eyes and tried to envision his mother as his father lit the candle.

Suddenly, with a great flash of light, Damen was hurtling god knows where, pulled along by a lump of burning, black wax. Damen briefly wondered if this is what it must feel like being a falling star. Then he found himself thinking of Jokaste, and of his promise to get the star across the wall. 

Suddenly he hurtled into a landing. But not on something- on someone.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damen's distraction comes at a price, and perhaps the star for Jokaste is not quite what Damen expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters in one day. I forgot how much I loved writing this. Well, I'm excited, but I think I'm going to chill for a bit before I give myself writer's block. Hopefully this one is longer for you. Thanks, as always, for all the support. It means so much.

There was silky golden hair everywhere Damen looked. It seemed, for a brief moment, to glow with its own light. It seemed strange to him that his mother would be blond. 

“Mother?” Damen asked, still disoriented and confused from his magical flight with a lumpy candle.  
“Do I look like I’m your mother?!” A cold, elegant voice snapped. It was beautiful, but definitely masculine.

Damen actually took a good look at the person beneath him. He had long gold hair that looked softer than a kitten. His skin was the colour of unbleached cotton and perfectly unmarked. It was smooth as polished marble. And his eyes- Damen knew they were the same as the ones in his dream. Long gold eyelashes framed the vibrant blue of his cold eyes. Damen allowed his gaze to slide down the elegant bridge of the stranger’s nose to his perfectly shaped, rosy lips. Looking down a little further, the boy had a clean, vaguely feminine jawline and a long, elegant neck. His collarbone was sharp, but not harshly angled. The body beneath him was delicately framed and lightly muscled. This young man was a model of perfection, and his beauty could rival that of Jokaste’s. Damen found his gaze returning to those stunning blue eyes that were fixed on him with a cold fury.

“Get the fuck off me, you giant animal.” The razor-sharp words jarred Damen out of his trance.  
“I’m so sorry!” He said to the blond stranger, noticing the faintest blush as he clumsily climbed off.  
He only received a frigid glare in response.  
“Well,” Damen asked, more to himself than anything. “If you aren’t my mother, who are you and where am I?”  
The boy elegantly arched an eyebrow, still maintaining the cold gaze.

“You see,” Damen told him. “I have this candle…” He paused, waving the candle at the pale figure still on the ground. “I was using it to find my mother. Father said she lives beyond the wall. I really didn’t believe in magic, but then… Well, I’m here, now. But you’re not my mother. And I was definitely thinking of my mother. But then Jokaste and the star popped into my head and- Wait!” Damen stopped and looked around in awe. “This is a crater. That must mean this is where the star landed!” He whipped around to face the strange boy, breathless with excitement. “Did you see it fall? Do you know where it landed?”

The young man scoffed and propped himself up on his elbows. Damen knew that expression well. Spoilt. He would obviously be of little help.

“Well, you don’t have to tell me,” Damen amended.  
“You want to know where it landed?” The blond elegantly gestured to a spot in the center of the crater. “Right there is where it landed. After it was minding its own business and knocked out of the sky by this funny necklace.” He paused to dig a clear crystal on a silver chain out of his shimmery blue shirt. “Oh! And if you want to be really specific, right there is where it was trying to set its broken leg. And there is where it was knocked to the ground by a magical, flying moron.”

Damen just gaped at him, more than a little distracted by the soft gold hair framing his face and cascading down his shoulders and back. “You’re the star! You’re the star?!”  
Those cold blue eyes rolled with a flutter of gold eyelashes. “Your powers of deduction continue to astound me.”  
“Rude,” Damen replied, slightly offended.  
“My specialty. Clearly I was correct in my assumption of your intelligence.”  
“Well, you may think I’m stupid, but you’ll still have to come with me.”  
“I’m not going anywhere with the likes of you.”

Damen hesitated, but looped the delicate, silver chain from his pocket around the the stranger’s delicate wrist. It magically sealed itself, not showing the slightest inclination to break. No matter how viciously the blond pulled at it. 

“I think this means you have to come with me,” Damen told him. “You see, you are to be a birthday gift for my true love, Jokaste.”  
“Because nothing says romance like the gift of a kidnapped, injured stranger.”

It was becoming very difficult to believe that this vicious-tongued stranger had actually fallen from the heavens. He looked like an angel, but his personality was more akin to a viper. 

“Well, you see, you don’t have much choice. Now, if you’re nice, I was planning to put you back in the sky once I’d presented you to Jokaste…” Damen said carefully.  
“Your babylon candle barely has one use left,” came the harsh reply.  
“Then be grateful I’m not using it right now!” Damen snapped, getting to the limit of his tolerance.  
“Says the person who has me on a leash and wants me to walk god only knows how far with an injured leg.”

Damen sighed with frustration and lifted the infuriating blond over his shoulder with ease, beginning to carry him out of the crater. The petite young man squirmed in his grip, occasionally swinging vicious kicks. 

Damen held him by the waist at arm’s length, glaring at him. “You need to stop.”  
He just squirmed more, scratching at Damen’s forearms with his nails.  
“At least tell me your name. I’m Damianos.” He suddenly realised how careful he had to be to avoid crushing the petite figure in his hands.  
He received a glare for his efforts, but also an answer. “It’s Laurent.”  
“Laurent?” Damen asked, finding the name strange.  
“Fuck off. You’re the tool with a name a mile long.”  
He had a point. “Well, you can call me Damen, then.”  
“I don’t think I will, you barbarian. I refuse to grace you with something as human as a name.”

Damen called on every ounce of self-control in his body to resist the urge to drop him out of spite. Which, was no easy feat. 

“You can either walk, or I’ll carry you. But I’m taking you to Jokaste,” Damen told Laurent, keeping his voice stern and commanding.  
“You’re sending me home afterward or I’ll slit your throat. Now put me the fuck down.”

It was the closest thing to acquiescence Damen was likely to get, so he gently set the yellow-haired fiend on the ground. It was going to be a long week getting back to Jokaste. At least he was pretty to look at. Not that his personality could inspire attraction in anyone. Damen thought that if he had to choose between a conversation with Laurent and a bite from a poisonous snake, he’d likely pick the snake.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damen is getting annoyed with Laurent's temper.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm slowly getting longer chapters rolling. I feel so amature at this. But at the same time, I don't want to pull a Dorian Grey per-say and spend at least six pages talking about fancy cups and tapestries. Because some description is nice, but too much is unbelievably boring. If anyone has any suggestions to help me, I am open. Again I'm winging this. It's great to not know what you're ding and essentially Jack Sparrow every chapter. (Ignore all my weird references, please.)

“Do you have any idea where you’re going?” Laurent hissed as Damen pulled him through the woods by the silver chain that had not yet broken.

They weren’t like the trees back home. They were taller and greener, and they felt… Alive. It was an intoxicating effect. Damen was content to quietly enjoy the scenery, but Laurent was having none of it.

“Yes, Sweetheart,” Damen replied irritably, invoking Laurent’s favourite condescending endearment. “Call it my love for Jokaste leading me back to her. True love would never lead me astray.”  
Laurent was not immature enough to make disgusted noises, so he settled for sullen silence.

“Besides,” Damen continued. “I have the North Star to guide me. You can see it even in the middle of the day.” He looked up to point it out to Laurent and stopped walking in surprise. “It’s not there…”  
A derisive noise came from Laurent, causing Damen to look back at him.  
“You’re the North Star! You’re the North Star?!”  
“Do you always have this annoying habit of repeating yourself?” Laurent asked in lieu of a reply.  
“No,” Damen gasped, offended.

Laurent simply raised an eyebrow. His cool indifference and subtly rude comments could inspire homicidal thoughts in a butterfly. He watched as Laurent simply walked past him, tugging on the chain for him to follow. It was truly wasteful of nature to bestow such beauty on such a distasteful personality. Arrogant and the first to throw stones, it would not surprise Damen if the other stars had simply kicked Laurent out. Even so, Damen could not help but worry at Laurent’s subtle limp. 

Said limp became steadily more pronounced after a few hours of weaving through trees and shooing away faeries. Damen had not known they bit. 

“Laurent,” Damen called. “Sit down.” He motioned to a fallen tree to emphasize his point.  
Laurent reluctantly did as he was bid with a small sigh. “What, now?”  
“Your leg. I want to put a splint on it if you aren’t going to let me carry you.”  
“How many people actually allow you to toss them over your shoulder like a sack of flour?”  
“Laurent. I’m trying to be nice to you.”  
“Nice would have been not kidnapping me.”

Damen took a really good look at Laurent’s face. Behind the cold blue eyes and stoic expression, the young man was exhausted. Which, honestly, only annoyed Damen more. Why hadn’t he said anything? Why hadn’t he asked to stop to rest instead of letting his leg get so bad it was clear he could barely walk on it? This yellow-haired fiend was so fucking stuck up he couldn’t even ask for a little bit of help.

In an attempt to quell his annoyance, Damen rolled up the leg of Laurent’s pants to see how bad the injury was. He nearly gasped. The milky white skin was swollen and bruised nearly black, and the bone was clearly shifted out of place. 

“Why the fuck didn’t you say something?” Damen glared up at him accusingly.  
Laurent stubbornly refused to answer.  
“At least stay here and let me go get something to put a splint on it.”  
“Fine.”  
“I’m also going to find the nearest village to get us a map, and maybe some food. You need to rest.”  
Laurent muttered a few choice unpleasantries, but nodded his acquiescence.

Damen wound the chain around the fallen tree trunk, sealing Laurent to it.  
“What are you doing?” he asked with a frigid glare.  
“Making sure you don’t escape.” Damen replied.  
“Where would I go?”  
“You honestly think I’m going to trust you just to wait here? All you’ve done since I met you is lie and cheat and try to escape. I don’t think there’s a situation in the world you wouldn’t do everything in your power to manipulate to your advantage. You’re a snake, Laurent. So don’t play it like you’re sad and innocent.”

Damen turned away and stormed off before Laurent could reply. It wasn’t like he was wrong. Laurent was cunning and manipulative, and he had nearly succumbed to it several times already. He only wished Laurent had been healthy enough to come along. No doubt Laurent could charm an unsuspecting village into going down on their knees for him. God, he had spent too much time with Laurent already. He was beginning to think like the wee devil. 

Damen knew he should be thinking about Jokaste, but he could not get Laurent out of his mind. Had he been too harsh? He hadn’t stayed for Laurent’s reaction, and he realised giving that over-critical mind so long to think about it had probably made the situation worse. He also worried about leaving Laurent alone, chained to a dead tree, with nothing to defend himself. Laurent made even Damen want to hit him. What would someone more inclined to violence do? He couldn’t exactly live with himself if he came back to find Laurent hurt or dead. Even if Laurent was positively unlikeable. He was under Damen’s protection.

Damen quickly bought a map and some food and started racing back to where he had left Laurent, not noticing the whisperings of his name through the wind in the trees. When at last he made it back to the fallen tree, Laurent was nowhere to be found. What could have happened? That chain was not supposed to be able to break. Damen sunk to the ground, overwhelmed by guilt at having left Laurent behind. 

Finally, he heard the whispers.  
“Damen. You must protect Laurent.”  
Damen looked up at the sky, and realised it was the stars speaking to him.  
“The unicorn came,” they whispered in a dizzying chorus. “It is trying to help him, but he is being lead into a trap. You must go to him. There are those who wish him harm.”  
“What what will they do?” Damen asked.

Suddenly his vision was filled with a memory that was not his own. Two men were there. One was tall and thin. He seemed sensible. His dark hair was greying and he had cold blue eyes not unlike Laurent’s. The other was nearly as large a man as Damen with short black hair and a nose that had clearly been broken multiple times. They were standing above a sleeping girl who was shining brightly. She was fair and delicate like Laurent, but her hair was copper. She must have been the last star to have fallen in this place. Suddenly the blue-eyed man drew out a black knife and cut out the girl’s heart.

Damen found himself crying when the images finally faded.  
“They’d do this to Laurent?” he asked.  
“And more,” the stars replied.  
“How can I help him?” Damen asked, strengthening his resolve.  
“There is a carriage coming. You must board it by any means necessary.”

Damen stood and ran for the road. He would take the carriage by force if necessary. When he saw it coming, he made a leap, meaning to jump onto it. Instead, his timing was embarrassingly poor and he simply bounced off like a table tennis ball. Though he admittedly nearly flipped the carriage in the process. 

“Please sir,” Damen said when a clearly rich man came out of the carriage to glare at him accusingly. “I need to board your carriage though I have no money.”  
“Guion put you up to this, didn’t he? He wants to take the stone for himself.” the strange man grumbled.  
Damen was mystified. “Who? I just need a ride, sir. Perhaps I can help you against this… Guion.”  
The man sniffed. “Very well. What’s your name, you colossal thing?”  
“It’s Damen. And, I’m not that large.”  
“Are you calling me short?” The man squealed indignantly.  
Damen sighed in exasperation. “Please just give me a ride! I must make haste.”  
“Why such a rush?”  
“A… friend of mine is in danger.”  
“Very well. Get in the carriage. I am Councillor Herode, by the way.”

Damen ignored the introduction and hastily slid his bulk into the small carriage, eager to be off and hoping the stars were right. This had to lead him to Laurent. He’d give anything to see that cold little viper safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is likely going to be in Laurent's POV. Mostly because I can relate to his character a lot more, and Damen is very difficult for me to portray. I kinda need a break. While it's fun, it's exhausting.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Evil plots and thunderstorms, I guess? This chapter is from Laurent's perspective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did Laurent justice. I kind of hypothesize that Laurent has some subtle level of anxiety- it would certainly contribute to his habit of overthinking everything. I kind of tried to incorporate that here. Of course, you don't have to agree with me. If you think anything could be changed for the better, please do let me know. I'm doing my best, but I'm a new writer and nobody's perfect. So, thanks for your continued patience and support.

It was pouring rain and the dead of night when the unicorn carrying Laurent stopped at an inn on the side of the road. It was suspiciously convenient, but Laurent was too cold, wet, and in pain to look for somewhere else. He couldn’t imagine the poor unicorn felt much better. He carefully slid off the horse, clenching his jaw when his leg gave a spike of pain in protest to being used again. He sighed and gently stroked the unicorn’s nose before knocking on the door of the inn. 

The door was quickly opened by an unsettlingly massive man with short black hair and a very crooked nose. Laurent immediately called to mind Damen for scale and decided this man was maybe slightly smaller. Damen was an imposing figure but, unlike this man, he didn’t actually scare Laurent. He was a lovestruck idiot, but he didn’t feel dangerous. Laurent stopped his thoughts before they could stray into unwanted territory and focused on the man before him. 

“I’m sorry to come so late,” Laurent started to say, when the hulking man with the crooked nose was gently nudged aside by an older, but seemingly kinder man.  
“I have to apologise. My friend is rather intimidating. Do come into my lovely inn.” He held out a hand with exactly three jeweled rings to Laurent.  
Laurent gratefully took it and let the man lead him inside, grateful to be out of the rain.  
“Govart,” the man said, “Take our guest’s horse to the stables.”  
The giant man begrudgingly complied.

Laurent carefully followed the older man upstairs, mindful not to aggravate his leg too much. To occupy his mind, Laurent carefully studied the man sheltering him. He was tall and slender. He had a rather simple face with blue eyes. His hair was a dark brown and beginning to grey. He was startled from his observation by the man’s voice. 

“I’ll run you a warm bath. There’s nothing like hot water to fight off a chill.”  
“Alright,” Laurent replied cautiously. 

The man sat him down to wait as the large claw-footed tub began to fill with water. Laurent absently played with the stone hanging around his neck, wondering what it was for. He knew nothing happened just to happen. He’d spent far too many years watching Earth to think anything else. He had been knocked out of the sky to serve a purpose. But what was it? He shivered slightly against his will, suddenly beginning to feel the chill from the rain.

‘The bath is ready,” the man said after a while.  
Laurent looked up at him. He could feel he was still drenched from the rain.  
“Would you like me to help you with your clothes?” the stranger asked.  
Laurent hesitated. The lacing proved difficult when it was dry. Wet… “Probably.”

He tipped his head forward and pulled his long hair out of the way to allow the stranger access to the lacing down the back of his shirt. Normally being undressed in front of people didn’t bother him in the least. But for whatever reason, this unsettled him. He pushed the worry to the back of his mind. This man was very kind to him. Besides, he was likely simply on edge from the earlier events of the day. 

He carefully climbed into the hot water after his clothes had been carefully removed. He immediately felt some of the tension drain out of him. The experience was positively euphoric. Perhaps the human world wasn’t as terrible as the other stars insisted. He watched the ends of his golden hair drift idly in the water around his shoulders. The heat loosened muscles he’d not known were tense. 

He thought about how abruptly he’d left Damen. Had it been cruel of him? Not that it mattered. It had been cruel of Damen to forcefully drag him so many miles on a magical leash and then leave him tied to a tree. He quelled his guilt, feeling justified in his decision. He did not want to meet this “Jokaste”. He’d find another way home, and he’d do it of his own merit.

The man pulled up a chair next to the bathtub and lazily stirred the water with a hand. 

“You already look better, darling,” he said kindly.  
Laurent nodded a little.  
“How is your leg feeling? I noticed your limp and that awful bruise.”

Calling attention to it, Laurent realised his leg actually felt perfectly fine. He quickly lifted it out of the water, seeing it perfectly healed.

“How did you…?” Laurent trailed off as he slipped his leg back under the water.  
“It’s a trade secret. I’m just glad I could help a pretty thing like you,” he replied cooly.

Laurent didn’t reply, but the flush of his cheeks and the slight glow off his skin seemed to say enough.

“You seem happier,” the man said gently.  
“I do feel more content. Less worried. I don’t have money to pay you for any of this, by the way. I hope that isn’t a problem.” Laurent answered softly.  
“It’s no trouble. We can always accommodate a young man lost in the rain.”   
“I should repay you somehow.”  
“A time for that will come. Rest for now.” He ran a soothing hand though Laurent’s damp hair.

As little as Laurent trusted the situation, it felt good to have someone treat him so gently after so long isolated in the sky. So, at the request of the man, he allowed his hair to be washed for him. Despite his better judgement, Laurent felt himself succumbing to the warmth, gentle caresses, and shelter. He allowed his muscles to relax and his hyperactive mind to slow. He felt something close to safe here.

Before the bath water could get cold, the blue-eyed man gently eased Laurent out of the tub and wrapped him snugly in a bathrobe. He barely noticed the larger, black-haired man eyeing him rather indecently. Though he was enough himself to recall the man was named Govart. He allowed the older man to gently lead him into an empty room and lay him on the bed. 

“Close your eyes, darling,” the man told him.

Laurent easily did as he was told, drowsy from the long journey in the rain and the warmth of the bath. He hardly felt the older man’s touch slide down his chest as he began to be pulled down into sleep.

There was, however, a sudden knock at the door that mildly startled them both. Laurent opened his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows, partially worried and partially curious.

“You lie back, dear,” the man said soothingly. “I’ll take care of this customer and be right back.”

Laurent nodded his understanding and watched the man leave the room. He took the opportunity to shake himself awake and review the events with a clear mind. Something had to be off. If there was anything Laurent had learned from watching people all those years, it was that people show exactly who they are very quickly. Trust the warning signs above the first impression. If something felt off about someone, your instincts were probably right. It was best if he made to leave this place soon.

He was just slipping out of his room when he saw a clearly well-fed man climb into the bath. He stopped, watching the stranger cautiously to ascertain whether or not this new stranger was a threat. Govart and the older man definitely were.

“You there,” the man in the bath called, seeing Laurent.  
Laurent immediately went on the defensive, shooting the man a frigid glare. If looks could kill…  
“No need to be so prude,” the man said irritably.  
“No need to assume every person you meet wants to have sex with you. I can assure you that those who do are only in it for your money,” Laurent replied snippily.  
“Your necklace,” the man said catching sight of it.  
“What about it?”  
“Give it to me! I am Councillor Herode and it is mine by right!”  
“Your personality is rather undeserving of something so pretty.”

Herode was about to reply when his throat was slit from behind by the older man with greying hair. Laurent, to his credit, did not flinch. Carefully assessing the situation, Laurent decided his best option was to run. He lacked any weapons to defend himself, and he had no doubt this man was physically stronger. He bolted down the stairs but skidded to a halt when he saw Govart blocking the exit. Perhaps he had time to break through a window? Govart began to advance on him, and Laurent doubted he’d like the result should the hulking man get a hold on him.

Before Laurent could act on any of his quickly multiplying plans, the door burst in and Govart was trampled underfoot by the unicorn. The older man, in a flash of fury Laurent had not expected, stabbed the unicorn through the eye, killing in nearly instantly. Laurent felt mildly sick at the sight beneath his fear. 

Damen ran in moments afterward and stared at Laurent in shock. His dark curls were damp and clinging to his temples. Damen looked so genuinely relieved upon seeing Laurent that he felt his cheeks warm slightly. This was ludicrous. Laurent had always been on his own. Why would anyone, especially Damen of all people, come to save him now? Laurent barely heard Damen call his name. What was this lovestruck idiot doing here? How could he be happy to see Laurent? It was too much to process all at once.

Before he could say anything sardonic, Damen had rushed over and embraced him. Laurent irritably squirmed out of his grip and pulled him down just in time to see a knife hurtle through the air where Damen’s head had been.

Unnatural green flames blazed up on either side of them, trapping them with the older man. Laurent didn’t think anything of trying to extricate himself from Damen’s protective grip. Why had he left? He’d known Damen wouldn’t hurt him. But it was too late for that now; there was no way out. They’d both die like this.

The older man began to advance on them.   
“That frightened little heart of yours is nothing compared to the glowing heart of a star at peace, but it will have to do.”

Laurent braced himself for what he thought inevitable. He felt his nails dig into Damen’s warm, dark skin. He breathed in the scent of rain from Damen’s hair and clothes, trying to prepare himself to die. But suddenly Damen whispered in his ear.

“Think of home.”

Laurent immediately understood. The babylon candle. Perhaps Damen was smarter than Laurent had given him credit for. He quickly shut his eyes and focused on his home.

With a flash of light, they were gone just as a black-bladed knife was swung at them. It felt exactly like it had to fall from the sky. When he opened his eyes, he was held against Damen’s chest in the middle of a raging storm. 

“Where are we?!” Damen yelled, looking in awe at the cloud beneath their feet.  
“You thought of your home and I thought of mine! Now we’re halfway between the two!” Laurent called back.  
“There was some psycho about to carve your heart out and you wanted more specific instructions?!”

Laurent debated slapping him. This man was infuriating. But he’d saved Laurent’s life, even though it meant endangering his own. He could handle suppressing his urges toward violence in return.

“How the fuck do you plan to get me home, now?” Laurent snapped instead.  
“I don’t know! Is it not enough I saved your life, you ungrateful brat?” Damen shot back.  
“Not if we’re stuck on a cloud until we get struck by lightning and die!”  
“I did my best, okay?! If you had some grand solution you could have voiced it!”

Laurent’s reply was cut off by a large net being thrown over both of them. Before either of them had any chance to think, they were being dragged aboard a flying ship. Laurent figured he had seen stranger things. Damen, however, seemed more than a little overwhelmed by this turn of events as they were dragged down to the ship’s brig.


End file.
